2001 Prophetic Statement: UN Resolution Against Israel Will Be Allowed to Pass and the Result Will Be Armageddon and the Second Coming

Why I Believe Jesus Will Return in My Lifetime

Irvin Baxter - What would it take to convince you that Jesus will return to earth during your lifetime? Would three fulfilled prophecies do it? Would five? Seven? Nine? How many?

Please indulge me for a few minutes while I briefly explain why I am absolutely convinced that Jesus will return to this earth during our generation.

Rebirth of Israel

There is no greater prophetic fulfillment. The nation of Israel was driven from her land in 70 AD. For almost 2,000 years, the Jewish people existed without a homeland; yet, while being sifted through the nations, they retained their identity.

The low point came between 1940 and 1944. Hitler was determined to implement his “final solution.” When Allied soldiers entered the Nazi concentration camps, they were horrified by what they discovered. Six million Jews had been gassed, shot, tortured and cremated.

In 1944, if you would have told the soldiers that opened these camps that the Jewish people would have their own nation and would become the premier military power in the Middle East by 1967, they would have thought you were crazy. But that is exactly what happened.

The most amazing thing about all of this is that it was prophesied over 2,500 years ago. The prophecy of Ezekiel 37 is called Ezekiel’s bone yard. Verse 12 states: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”

The last part of this prophecy states that it will come to pass in the latter days, just before the Battle of Armageddon. It is at Armageddon that Jesus returns to earth.

Drying up of Euphrates

The prophecy of Revelation 16:12 has lain quietly for almost 2,000 years, virtually defying fulfillment. It declares that the mighty Euphrates River will be dried up at the time of the Battle of Armageddon. But who is kidding whom? The Euphrates is the principal water source of the entire Middle East. This is like prophesying that the Mississippi River will be dried up! This Euphrates prophecy just appeared to be impossible.

At least it did until the shocking headline appeared on the front page of the Indianapolis Star, January 13, 1990. It read, “Flow of Euphrates To Be Stopped for 30 Days.”

The article explained that Turkey had built the huge Ataturk Dam. Thirty days would be required to fill up the newly constructed reservoir. So the Euphrates was temporarily stopped.

The river is flowing again now. However, as of 1990, the mechanism is in place that can stop the flow of the Euphrates at will. The prophecy states that, at the time of Armageddon, the flow of the Euphrates will be dried up to facilitate the invasion of Israel. It will really be very simple. Just push the button, raise the dam, and the Euphrates stops. But remember, it’s only been possible since 1990!

An economy run by numbers

Revelation 13:17: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

The prophecy simply states that, during the endtime, everyone will need a mark or a number in order to participate in the economy. How could such a system possibly be implemented?

Until recently, it couldn’t. Only since the invention of the computer and the advent of the Internet, has the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy been remotely possible.

Now it is becoming commonplace to see articles proposing a cashless society. Who hasn’t been prevented from using a credit card because of forgetting a PIN number (personal identification number)? Experiments are already being conducted with using eye scans, face scans and fingerprints for proof of identity. Positive ID has become so necessary in a world that increasingly does business “online.”

The new money of Europe, the euro, has been in use for over two years. Millions of euros are traded every day. And yet to this point, physical euros do not exist. All transactions have been electronic – cashless! Euro notes and coins will be introduced in January 2002. Can a cashless society work? Europe has proven that it can.

Between online transactions and the use of smart cards, the technology presently exists to set up a cashless society. The only blockade is public acceptance. How long will it be before society is able to get used to it?

The Bible is crystal clear that the prophesied economic system will be implemented during the final three and one-half years before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Never possible before…totally possible now!

Most of the prophecies of the Bible are written in symbols. Only four or five give the literal name of a person or a place. Two of these special prophecies appear to have come to pass during the last fifteen years.

Chernobyl

In Revelation 8:10-11, John saw what he described as a star falling from heaven. He said the name of the star was called Wormwood.

On April 26, 1986, the world’s worst ever nuclear explosion occurred. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant located in the Ukraine malfunctioned, releasing ten times as much radioactivity into the air as was released at the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II. So far, 125,000 have died as a result of the accident.

The nuclear cloud created by the Chernobyl explosion was carried by the winds into Europe. The resulting nuclear rains filled the rivers of Europe with the nuclide Cesium 137. People who drank the water or ate food touched by the water ingested the deadly nuclide. Doctors and scientists estimate that over 2 million people are presently infected by Cesium 137, which ultimately results in cancer.

The Ukrainian word for wormwood is chernobyl. If we were reading a Ukrainian Bible, the passage would say, “the name of the star is called Chernobyl.”

Saddam Hussein

Revelation 9:1-11 prophesies a time when smoke will come out of the bottomless pit. The sun and the air will be darkened by the smoke.

When Saddam Hussein was forced to withdraw from Kuwait in 1991, he wreaked his vengeance by setting 700 of the world’s richest oil wells on fire. As a result, the sun was not seen in the area for the next three months. At noon, it was as dark as at midnight.

In this apocalyptic vision, John saw what he described as locusts coming out of the smoke. Only these were not ordinary locusts. He said that the locusts had breastplates of iron, the faces of men, and their stings were in their tails. John heard the sound of these “locusts.” He said, “the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.”

Does this sound like a description of the modern helicopter to you? It does to me! Remember that John had never seen a helicopter. He was merely attempting to record what he saw in his vision.

The most incredible part of this prophecy is verse 11, “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. Both Abaddon and Apollyon mean “the destroyer.” Many translations of the Bible literally say—They had a king over them whose name is the destroyer.

Why is this so important? When Saddam Hussein was born, his mother decided to name him Saddam because the name means “the destroyer.” She did this because her pregnancy had been so terribly painful.

The one who was over the darkening of the sun and the helicopters participating in that war, is called “the  destroyer.”

Coincidence? You really think so?!

China War—200 million man army

In summary, the prophecy says that an army of 200 million will trigger a war that will kill one-third of the world’s population—two billion people.

Of all the prophecies, this one is by far the most ominous! No matter how we twist and turn its message, it still states that one-third of the world will be destroyed.

But who will ignite this horrible prophesied holocaust? The Bible describes an army of 200 million. Has there ever been an army of 200 million on the face of the earth? Most nations don’t even have a population of 200 million—let alone an army!

The alarming news is that a nation has made the boast that it can field an army of 200 million. The late leader of China, Mao Tse Tung, bragged that he could field an army of 200 million soldiers. The 1999 World Factbook, put out by the CIA, stated that China had 198 million men of military age (15-49). That number went over the 200 million mark as of the year 2000.

A prophecy that could never before have been fulfilled can now come to pass at any time. Since the Saddam Hussein prophecy happened at the sounding of the 5th Trumpet and the China War will occur at the 6th Trumpet, it is obvious that this terrible event is the next major item on God’s prophetic calendar.

Knowing this, we realize how very dangerous the present conflict between China and the United States actually is!

World army to invade Israel

Zechariah 14:2 states that all nations will come against Jerusalem to battle at the time of Armageddon. Throughout the 2,000 years since this prophecy was given, people have wondered how all nations would be able to gather at Jerusalem.

Only in recent times has it become apparent how this prophecy will be fulfilled. Beginning with the Gulf War in 1990-1991, the world’s trouble spots have been dealt with by the forces of the World Community. When conflict arises somewhere on the globe, the United Nations passes a resolution to solve the problem. Any faction that does not bow the knee to the decisions of the World Community runs the risk of invasion by the International Forces. So we understand that every single nation on earth may not be present at Armageddon, but the forces of the World Community representing the United Nations will be there.

Within the last month, the UN Security Council voted on a resolution to send soldiers into Israel to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Only a veto from the United States stopped the UN from moving against Israel.

This failed vote was a precursor to one that will succeed. Whether the United States will decide to allow international intervention in the Middle East or whether UN reforms result in abolishment of the veto power, we don’t yet know. But somehow a UN resolution against Israel will be allowed to pass. Result—Armageddon and the Second Coming.

Great tribulation in Judea

As Judy and I stepped onto the bulletproof bus at Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station, the prophecy of Matthew 24:15-21 kept running through my mind. Jesus had said that those living in Judea would suffer great tribulation during the times immediately before His Second Coming. Bus #170 would take us out to Beit El (Bethel) in Judea, referred to as the West Bank by the media.

During the one-hour ride north of Jerusalem, we circled around Ramallah where the brutal lynching took place. I couldn’t help but look at the thick double glass covering the bus’ windows, wondering if it really would stop a sniper’s bullet.

But the thought foremost in my mind was the prophecy. Two-thousand years ago, Jesus had prophesied about this time and the danger that would engulf this specific area. Here we were, in 2001, traveling through the area only because we were shielded by the bulletproof bus. And to think that the worst is yet to come!

An article recently reported that a plan already exists for the Palestinians to overrun the Judean settlements when the time is right.

I came away from this unique experience, knowing that I had glimpsed a preview of the Great Tribulation, and it wasn’t pretty!

Another compelling sign that we are living in the endtime!

Conclusion

Taken alone, most of these prophetic fulfillments might be able to be explained away as coincidental. However, there is a question that sincere, thinking people must ask themselves…At what point does coincidence end and divine providence begin?

Mexico Raises Alert Level for Popocatepetl Volcano

Mexico raises alert level for Popocatepetl volcano

May 12, 2013 

Reuters - Mexican authorities raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano near Mexico City on Sunday morning after observing an increased level of explosive activity.

The lava dome of Popocatepetl, some 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast of the capital, may expand and unleash increasingly powerful explosions of ash and lava, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention said in a statement.

The alert level for the towering volcano was raised to yellow phase three from yellow phase two, on orders from the country's Interior Ministry.

It is the third-highest warning on the center's seven-step scale.

This change in activity in the 5,450-meter (17,900-foot) volcano could provoke big explosions capable of sending incandescent fragments out over considerable distances, the center added.

Earthquakes in Divers Places (Matthew 24:7-8; Luke 21:11) - Signs of the Times

Second Earthquake in Less Than a Month Rattles Iran, Near Nuke Reactor

May 6, 2013

AP - Iran says a moderate earthquake rattled a region near the country's main nuclear reactor, but there were no reports of damage or deaths in the surrounding area.

The official Islamic Republic News Agency says Monday's quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 and was centered near Kaki, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf coast. A more powerful 6.1 temblor struck the same area last month, killing at least 37 people and raising calls for greater international safety inspectors at the nuclear reactor in Bushehr.

Iran said there was no damage to the reactor in last month's quake. The IRNA report Monday did not specifically address the reactor, but said there were no fatalities or damage in the latest quake.

China rushes relief after Sichuan quake kills 188

April 22, 2013

USA Today - China mobilized thousands of soldiers and rescuers Sunday, a day after a powerful quake struck Sichuan province killing at least 188 people and injuring more than 11,000. Among the deadliest quake the country has seen in the past three years, more than 2,000 aftershocks have rattled the area, The China Earthquake Administration said.

Mountain roads blocked by rocks and landslides hampered rescue efforts to reach every village and household affected by the quake — measured at magnitude-6.6 by the U.S. Geological Survey — that struck Saturday morning in the same region where a 2008 quake took nearly 90,000 lives. The quake's shallow depth, less than 8 miles, likely magnified the impact

Some 18,000 soldiers and armed police were sent to the disaster zone in sourthwestern China, and 10,000 had already reached seriously affected areas, the Chengdu Military Area Command said Sunday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The Chengdu Military Area Command also said it would send 23 helicopters. As of 4:30 p.m. local time Sunday, the Chinese air force had sent 106 planes for rescue missions, including personnel and material transportation, Xinhua said.

An emergency rescue team with 200 workers organized by the China Earthquake Administration (CEA), joined their provincial counterparts in the quake zone Sunday afternoon, but bad weather delayed plans to reach hard-hit Baoxing County, which has had little contact with the outside world, according to the CEA.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited injured survivors Sunday before returning to Beijing, where Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China does not currently need foreign rescue teams or medical and relief supplies. Qin said the country has guaranteed rescue and medical treatment capability and sufficient rescue materials.

Luo Shiqiang sat near chunks of concrete, bricks and a ripped orange sofa and told the Associated Press how his grandfather was just returning from feeding chickens when their house collapsed and crushed him to death in the earthquake.

"We lost everything in such a short time," the 20-year-old college student said Sunday.

He said his cousin also was injured in the collapse, but that other members of his family were spared because they were out working in the fields of hard-hit Longmen village in Lushan County.

Two soldiers assisting in the rescue efforts died after their vehicle slid off a road and rolled down a cliff, state media reported.

The Chinese Red Cross said it had deployed relief teams with supplies of food, water, medicine and rescue equipment to the disaster areas.

However, many residents complained that although emergency teams were quick to carry away bodies and search for survivors, they had so far done little to distribute aid.

"No water, no shelter," read a hand-written sign held up by children on a roadside in Longmen, according to the AP.

Chinese journalist delays her wedding following a magnitude-6.6 earthquake to cover the story in her wedding dress.

On Saturday, state media showed images of collapsed buildings, roads blocked by fallen rocks and hundreds of people seeking medical attention at a makeshift triage center outside the county hospital in Lushan, located at the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

Premier Li flew by helicopter to the quake zone in Lushan on Saturday afternoon, where he met survivors and local government and army leaders.

Authorities' quick response will likely win popular support in China, where many citizens consider government officials corrupt and self-serving. However, the quake may also serve as a test of transparency for the new regime especially if evidence is uncovered that shoddy construction contributed to deaths and injuries.

After the 2008 quake, authorities went to great lengths to bury bad news about the high number of schools that collapsed, killing thousands of children. It also jailed people who gathered information on the issue or tried to expose the corrupt practices that had led to the poorly built schools.

In the immediate aftermath of Saturday's quake, Chinese Internet users focused on trying to help. Bloggers in the quake zone turned Saturday to Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like service, to call for assistance.

Organizations and individuals quickly responded with volunteer action, including Li Chengpeng, a Sichuan-based writer and former soccer commentator, whose profile as a social critic rose after the 2008 disaster when he joined rescue efforts and saw the schools firsthand. On his Sina Weibo account, which has millions of followers, Li posted Saturday that he had organized an expert rescue team to send to Ya'an, and welcomed donations of money or manpower.

Other volunteer efforts also spread via Weibo. Inspirational stories emerged, including one about local Ya'an television anchorwoman Chen Ying, who rushed to file reports while dressed in her wedding gown on her wedding day. And Chinese Central Television reported that the giant pandas were safe in the country's biggest panda research center in Ya'an, located about 26 miles from the epicenter.

Major quake strikes Iran-Pakistan border

April 16, 2013

AP - A major earthquake struck Tuesday near the Iran-Pakistan border and shook buildings as far away as New Delhi and Gulf cities of Dubai and Bahrain. There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.

The quake struck less than a week after a 6.1 magnitude quake hit near Bushehr, on Iran's Persian Gulf coast, killing at least 37 people and raising calls for greater international safety inspections at the country's long energy-producing nuclear reactor.

Iran's seismological center said the 7.5 magnitude earthquake was centered near Saravan, a sparsely populated area about 48 kilometers (26 miles) from the Pakistani border. The U.S. Geological Survey put the preliminary magnitude at 7.8 and at a depth of 15.2 kilometers (nine miles).

The quake was felt over a vast area from New Delhi to Gulf cities that have some of the world's tallest skyscrapers, including the record 828-meter (2,717 -foot) Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Officials ordered temporary evacuations from some high-rises as a precaution.

Pakistani news channels showed buildings shaking in the southern city of Karachi, where people in panic came out from offices and homes. There was no immediate word on any damage and people were seen standing outside their homes and offices even minutes after the quack rattled various parts of the country.

In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern Iranian city of Bam.

Iran's Massive Earthquake Explained

April 16, 2013

LiveScience.com – The strongest earthquake to hit Iran in more than 50 years was a subduction-zone quake — the same tectonic setting underlying deadly temblors in Japan, Chile and Indonesia.

The magnitude-7.8 Khash earthquake struck 51 miles (82 kilometers) beneath the Earth's surface, where the Arabian Plate dives under the massive Eurasian Plate, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The quake hit today (April 16) at 3:14 p.m. local time (6:44 a.m. EDT). Shaking was felt from New Delhi to Dubai, and dozens of people have been reported killed by collapsed structures, according to news reports. The USGS said that there will be more than a 47 percent chance of more than 1,000 fatalities.

Known as the Makran subduction zone, the plate boundary has produced some of the Middle East's biggest and deadliest earthquakes. For example, in November 1945, a magnitude-8.0 earthquake in Pakistan triggered a tsunami within the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, killing more than 4,000 people.

Considering subduction-zone earthquakes can strike nearly 435 miles (700 km) deep in the Earth, today's quake was likely within the Arabian Plate itself, not along the zone where the two massive slabs meet, said Bill Barnhart, a research geophysicist with the USGS in Denver.

"We don't fully know yet, but instead of being slip along the slab, it was probably an earthquake within the slab," Barnhart told OurAmazingPlanet. "This is related to the subducting slab flexing as it goes down deeper into the Earth."

Off the coast of Pakistan, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Plate is sliding northward at about 1.5 inches (37 millimeters) per year. The motion pushes oceanic crust beneath the Eurasian Plate, which covers most of Europe and Asia, according to the USGS.

To the west, in Iran and Iraq, are the Zagros Mountains, a smaller version of the Himalayas, where continental crust carried on the Arabian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate's continental crust. To the east, in Pakistan and India, is another plate boundary, where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet.

A smaller earthquake hit Iran on April 9. The magnitude-6.3 Bushehr earthquake, which hit in the southern Zagros Mountains, was unrelated to today's temblor, the USGS said. That quake was a thrust-fault earthquake, meaning the ground on one side of the fault moved vertically up and over the other side, shortening the distance between the two sides. The epicenter was 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Bushehr, the city where Iran's only nuclear power station is located.

In 2003, some 26,000 people in Iran were killed by a 6.6-magnitude quake that flattened the historic city of Bam, located about 400 miles (650 km) east of Bushehr on the other side of the Zagros Mountains. The Bam earthquake was a strike-slip, meaning the ground on either side of the faults moved mostly horizontally, as the San Andreas Fault does.

Swarm of earthquakes shakes central Oklahoma Tuesday

April 16, 2013

NewsOK - The U.S. Geological Survey reported nine earthquakes Tuesday in central Oklahoma. The largest, a 4.3 magnitude quake, struck at 1:56 a.m. near Luther.

At least nine earthquakes were reported Tuesday in central Oklahoma, some large enough to jolt people in the area, but no damage was reported.

The largest of the quakes was reported at 1:56 a.m. near Luther and woke people in the region. The 4.3 magnitude quake was followed by a 4.2 temblor at 5:16 a.m. in the same area. Other smaller earthquakes occurred throughout the day.

Quakes with a magnitude of 3 are among the smallest that are generally felt, while a magnitude 4 quake can do some damage.

Austin Holland, a seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey, said Tuesday's string of quakes was different from other earthquakes that have struck the area in recent years. The largest earthquake in state history was a 5.7 magnitude quake in November 2011 near Prague.

“These certainly are very different earthquakes than what we've seen in the past,” Holland said. “These were very shallow. They are fairly rare. We haven't seen a series like this that has been so shallow with these size earthquakes.”

The quakes that hit the state Tuesday were centered four to five kilometers below ground. Most quakes are dozens of kilometers or more below ground.

No casualties in magnitude 5.6 quake in Russia's Kamchatka

March 13, 2013 

Reuters - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Russia's northern Kamchatka peninsula and weaker shocks could be felt in five inhabited areas, the federal Emergencies Ministry said on Wednesday, adding there were no casualties or damage.

The ministry put the quake's epicenter at a depth of 14 km (nine miles) and some 840 km (522 miles) north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the provincial capital of the region, which is one of the most seismically active areas in the world.

Quake measuring 5.0 strikes off southern Greek coast

February 17, 2013 

Reuters - An earthquake of 5.0 magnitude struck in the Mediterranean just off Greece's southern coast on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The quake occurred at 7:42 a.m. (0542 GMT), 34 miles southwest of the coastal city of Kalamata in the Peloponnese region, the Survey said.

Greece is often rattled by earthquakes. While most cause no serious damage, a 5.9 magnitude quake killed 143 people in 1999.

Strong but deep quake in Colombia

February 9, 2013

AP - A powerful but deep earthquake shook a broad swath of Colombia and Ecuador on Saturday, sending frightened people fleeing into the streets, but there were no immediate reports of significant damage or deaths.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 9:16 a.m. (14:16 GMT) quake had a magnitude of 7.0.It was centered about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from the Colombian town of Pasto and 77 miles (129 kilometers) below the surface.

The quake was felt in the Colombian capital of Bogota, some 340 miles (545 kilometers) to the northeast, and across much of neighboring Ecuador.

Colombia's national disaster chief, Carlos Ivan Marquez, said officials had made a damage survey across the country "and fortunately up to this moment we have no reports of human losses."

In the province of Narino, where the quake hit, secretary of government Jaime Rodriguez said officials had reports of three people hurt when roof tiles fell in the town of El Charco along the Pacific Coast. Officials in Ecuador also reported no significant damage.

Colombian television showed people fleeing into the streets in southwestern cities such as Cali, and small cracks in the walls of some buildings.

Tsunami warning issued for South Pacific islands after major quake

Februray 5, 2013
 

Reuters - A tsunami warning was issued for several South Pacific islands after a major earthquake measuring 8.0 magnitude struck off the Solomon Islands, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said on Wednesday.

The warning was issued for the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Fiji, Kiribati, and Wallis and Futuna islands.

A tsunami watch was issued for the rest of the South Pacific nations, including Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

The quake struck at a very shallow depth of only five km (three miles) and was located 340 km (211 miles) east of Kira Kira in the Solomons.

"It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation," said the tsunami center.

Earthquakes magnitude 7.0 or greater in the world, 2002-2013 as of May 7, 2013

2002: 11
2003: 13
2004: 11
2005: 10
2006: 09
2007: 16
2008: 12
2009: 15
2010: 23
2011: 20
2012: 26
2013:   6

Read More...

Lines Grow Outside Iran's Shops as Food Prices Rise Under International and Western Sanctions Over Tehran's Disputed Nuclear Program

Food price hikes raise concerns in Iran

April 22, 2013

AP - Iranians lined up to buy cooking oil and meat in Tehran on Monday, as price hikes threatened to stir discontent less than two months before presidential elections. 

Prices of staples such as imported cooking oil, chicken and red meat have jumped up to 60 percent since authorities decided last week to increase the official dollar exchange rate for importers who need the currency to do business. They now pay 24,500 rials for $1, nearly double the previous rate of 12,260. 

Iran's economy is flagging under international and Western sanctions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The West suspects the program could lead to production of weapons, but Iran denies the charge. The sanctions, which include an oil and banking embargo, have led to a shortage of foreign currency and drastically cut the government's income, while the country's persistent inflation eats into consumer buying power.

Despite government assurances that the new rate will go not go into effect for several weeks, many people are stocking up on goods before prices rise even more. The government has banned prices hikes until the new measures are in place and dispatched inspectors to keep tabs on businesses.

"Any price rise is illegal," said Mojtaba Farahani, an official in the Commerce Ministry. "So far a remarkable number of reports have been filed about wholesale and retail shops," he told the semiofficial ISNA news agency.

In Tehran, stores were crowded with people rushing to beat the hikes. In one grocery, homemaker Neda Rahimi quickly scooped up the last three bottles of cooking oil left on the shelves.

"Everyday prices are going higher and higher. I will take these for now, so I have some extra at home," said the mother of two.

In another shop, 48-year-old high school teacher Asghar Niazi said a government announcement in March to raise public sector wages had encouraged stores to raise prices.

"Now every shop has hiked its prices up more than 20 percent. I was here to buy cooking oil, but people snapped it all up before I arrived."

Frustration over the price hikes has resonated in Iran's tightly controlled media, which has grown increasingly critical of the government over the past year for the surge in costs for milk, chicken, rice and locally made cars.

On Monday, a string of newspapers warned that the new currency rules could add to restlessness ahead of the June 14 election to select a successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The commentaries, which came from across the political spectrum, suggest disputes within the country's closed ruling system. Even the influential conservative daily Kayhan, which often supports the policies of Iran's ruling clerics, referred to "hidden hands" working from behind the scenes to provoke discontent.

The more moderate Hamshahri newspaper ran a front page article focusing on "expanding" prices, accusing officials of trying to "downplay" their effects. Another daily, Haft-e Sobh, reported traffic jams in front of major stores because of long lines of customers rushing to make last-minute purchases.

Prices for local products are also rising, although at a slower rate. While in Tehran a liter of imported cooking oil has jumped to around 100,000 rials from about 60,000, the domestically produced version now costs 34,000 rials, compared to 27,000 rials two weeks ago. 

Price rises for locally produced products that have become the mainstay of much of the country are likely to generate more concern among policymakers, especially since even the prices of basics, like bread, are becoming less stable. Last week, Deputy Commerce Minister Abbas Ghobadi said prices of bread "will definitely go higher."

Sydney's Beaches Closed as Algae Turns the Sea Blood Red; Large Numbers of Fish are Believed to Have Perished

Beach Turns Blood Red, Swimmers Flee

November 27, 2012

ABC News - Sydney's famous beaches, popular with surfers, looked more like a scene out of a horror movie today when the waters were stained blood red from an algae bloom.

Bondi Beach, as well as nearby Clovelly Beach and Gordon's Bay, were closed while authorities tested the water.

The beaches reopened in the late afternoon after the red algae, which was identified as Noctiluca scintillans or sea sparkle, begin to fade, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Algae blooms are most prevalent in hot, humid weather, the newspaper reported. Australia is currently enjoying the transition from spring to its summer, which begins in December.

PHOTOS: Red Tide Shocks Swimmers

While red algae isn't toxic, people were advised to avoid swimming in the algae-colored water because its high ammonia levels can cause skin irritation.

"It has got quite a fishy smell to it," lifeguard Bruce Hopkins told the Australian Associated Press. "It can irritate some people's skin but generally not much more than that."

Hopkins said the red algae was rare but definitely not unheard of.

Despite the warnings, it didn't stop some swimmers, including the one pictured above, from jumping in to the surf.

Earlier this month, Prince Charles visited Bondi Beach as part of a tour celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

Tourists in Australia flee as Bondi Beach turns into the 'Red Sea' because of rare algae bloom

• Beaches closed over health fears but some swimmers are braving the water
• Phenomenon caused when tiny plants flourish due to unusual conditions
• They can appear in various colours often with spectacular results
• Algae is high in ammonia which can cause skin rashes and eye irritation
• Large numbers of fish are believed to have perished

November 27, 2012

Telegraph - Tourists heading for world-famous Bondi Beach were left high and dry today after a rare natural phenomenon turned the water blood red.

Bondi was among several popular beaches in and around Sydney, Australia, which had to be closed after a huge algae bloom transformed the sea into something resembling a scene from a Jaws movie.

But despite the warnings a number of intrepid beachgoers were seen venturing into the water and swimming through the red surface, Ten News Sydney reported.

The natural phenomenon is caused when algae, a plant-like organism flourishes and large groups of the miniscule plants, which can appear in various colours, gather together often with spectacular results.Known as Nocturnal Scintillans or sea sparkle it has no toxic effects but people are still advised to avoid swimming in areas with discoloured water because the algae, which can be high in ammonia, can cause skin irritation.

British tourists were among large groups of visitors who were told by lifeguards not to enter the water until the all-clear was given because the algae can irritate the skin and cause other health problems.

Ken Roberts, 23, from Birmingham, England said:

‘Perhaps I’m just in the wrong country – I thought the Red Sea was somewhere in Asia.’

Local lifeguard Bruce Hopkins said:

'It has quite a fishy smell to it.

'It makes the water look like it has a coating of tomato-sauce coloured oil.’

The algae has already disappointing thousands who had headed to the coast to cool off as the summer Down Under finally gets under way of a prolonged cold period.

The New South Wales (NSW) Office of Water has been carrying out a series of tests to discover what caused the bloom. One theory is that it was caused by an upwelling of colder nutrient-rich water. A spokesman said that the blooms, sometime referred to as 'red tides', are more common around spring and autumn when the water temperature is higher and there are greater movements in ocean currents.

Large numbers of fish are believed to have perished from the effects of the algae.

A spokesman for the local council said red algae could be dangerous to some humans exposed to it.

‘There are some possible risks to human health including skin rashes and eye irritation and for this reason the beach will remain closed until the algae dissipates,’ he said.

Tourists and locals are hoping that the algae will have dissipated by the weekend, when temperatures are expected to reach 40c.

Sydney's Blood Red Dust Storm September 22, 2009





Related:

Red Tide or Corexit — Oxygen Starved Dead Zones Killing Texas Seafood

U.S. Drought Worsens After Weeks of Improvement

US drought worsens after weeks of improvement

November 21, 2012

AP - The worst U.S. drought in decades has deepened again after more than a month of encouraging reports of slowly improving conditions, a drought-tracking consortium said Wednesday, as scientists struggled for an explanation other than a simple lack of rain.

While more than half of the continental U.S. has been in a drought since summer, rain storms had appeared to be easing the situation week by week since late September. But that promising run ended with Wednesday's weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report, which showed increases in the portion of the country in drought and the severity of it.

The report showed that 60.1 percent of the lower 48 states were in some form of drought as of Tuesday, up from 58.8 percent the previous week. The amount of land in extreme or exceptional drought — the two worst classifications — increased from 18.3 percent to 19.04 percent.

The Drought Monitor's map tells the story, with dark red blotches covering the center of the nation and portions of Texas and the Southeast as an indication of where conditions are the most intense. Those areas are surrounded by others in lesser stages of drought, with only the Northwest, Florida and a narrow band from New England south to Mississippi escaping.

A federal meteorologist cautioned that Wednesday's numbers shouldn't be alarming, saying that while drought usually subsides heading into winter, the Drought Monitor report merely reflects a week without rain in a large chunk of the country.

"The places that are getting precipitation, like the Pacific Northwest, are not in drought, while areas that need the rainfall to end the drought aren't getting it," added Richard Heim, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. "I would expect the drought area to expand again" by next week since little rain is forecast in the Midwest in coming days.

He said there was no clear, scientific explanation for why the drought was lingering or estimate for how long it would last.

"What's driving the weather? It's kind of a car with no one at the steering wheel," Heim said. "None of the atmospheric indicators are really strong. A lot of them are tickling around the edges and fighting about who wants to be king of the hill, but none of them are dominant."

The biggest area of exceptional drought, the most severe of the five categories listed by the Drought Monitor, centers over the Great Plains. Virtually all of Nebraska is in a deep drought, with more than three-fourths in the worst stage. But Nebraska, along with the Dakotas to the north, could still see things get worse "in the near future," the USDA's Eric Luebehusen wrote in Wednesday's update.

The drought also has been intensifying in Kansas, the top U.S. producer of winter wheat. It also is entirely covered by drought, and the area in the worst stage rose nearly 4 percentage points to 34.5 percent as of Tuesday. Much of that increase was in southern Kansas, where rainfall has been 25 percent of normal over the past half year.

After a summer in which farmers watched helpless as their corn dried up in the heat and their soybeans became stunted, many are now worrying about their winter wheat.

It has come up at a rate on par with non-drought years, but the quality of the drop doesn't look good, according to the USDA. Nearly one-quarter of the winter wheat that germinated is in poor or very poor condition, an increase of 2 percentage points from the previous week and 9 percentage points worse than the same time in 2011. Forty-two percent of the plantings are described as in fair shape, the same as last week.

Farmers who might normally irrigate in such circumstances worry about low water levels in the rivers and reservoirs they use, and many are hoping for snow to ease the situation. But it would take a lot. About 20 inches of snow equals just an inch of actual water, and many areas have rain deficits of a foot or more.

Brokers are Gathering Up Discarded Food Products and Putting Them Out for the Highest Bid to Feed Lot Operators and Dairy Producers, Who are Scrambling to Keep Their Animals Fed

Sweet Times for Cows as Gummy Worms Replace Costly Corn Feed

September 23, 2012

Reuters - Mike Yoder's herd of dairy cattle are living the sweet life. With corn feed scarcer and costlier than ever, Yoder increasingly is looking for cheaper alternatives -- and this summer he found a good deal on ice cream sprinkles.

"It's a pretty colorful load," said Yoder, who operates about 450 dairy cows on his farm in northern Indiana. "Anything that keeps the feed costs down."

As the worst drought in half a century has ravaged this year's U.S. corn crop and driven corn prices sky high, the market for alternative feed rations for beef and dairy cows has also skyrocketed. Brokers are gathering up discarded food products and putting them out for the highest bid to feed lot operators and dairy producers, who are scrambling to keep their animals fed.

In the mix are cookies, gummy worms, marshmallows, fruit loops, orange peels, even dried cranberries. Cattlemen are feeding virtually anything they can get their hands on that will replace the starchy sugar content traditionally delivered to the animals through corn.

"Everybody is looking for alternatives," said Ki Fanning, a nutritionist with Great Plains Livestock Consulting in Eagle, Nebraska. "It's kind of funny the first time you see it but it works well. The big advantage to that is you can turn something you normally throw away into something that can be consumed. The amazing thing about a ruminant, a cow, you can take those type of ingredients and turn them into food."

PRICING VARIES

Feed is generally the largest single production expense for cattle operators. Whatever is fed needs to supply energy and protein levels that meet the animals' nutritional needs. High prices for soy has operators seeking alternatives for both corn and soy.

Corn alternatives are in particular demand as supplies are so tight that in some areas of the country, feed corn is not available at any price.

Pricing and availability of the many different "co-products" as they are called, varies from place to place, but buyers report savings of 10 percent to 50 percent.

The savings for operators are shrinking, however, as savvy resellers tie pricing for their alternative offerings to the price of corn, which surged to record highs this summer due to drought damage.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last month the harvest now underway will yield the smallest corn crop in six years due to the drought that is still gripping more than half of the nation.

"They are using less corn in a number of these rations, but as corn prices go up, prices for really every other co-product go up too," said Greg Lardy, head of the animal sciences department at North Dakota State University.

Operators must be careful to follow detailed nutritional analyses for their animals to make sure they are getting a healthy mix of nutrients, animal nutritionists caution. But ruminant animals such as cattle can safely ingest a wide variety of feedstuffs that chickens and hogs can't.

The candy and cookies are only a small part of a broad mix of alternative feed offerings for cattle. Many operators use distillers grains, a byproduct that comes from the manufacture of ethanol. Other common non-corn alternatives include cottonseed hulls, rice products, potato products, peanut pellet.

Wheat "middlings," a byproduct of milling wheat for flour that contain particles of flour, bran, and wheat germ, also are fed.

And every now and then, there is a little chocolate for the hungry cows.

Hansen Mueller Grain out of Omaha, Nebraska, which markets chocolate bars alongside oats and peanut pellets, said it all comes down to fat, sugar and energy.

"That's all it is," said Bran Dill, a spokesman at Hansen Mueller. Demand is high, he said.

But he also said increasing prices are making alternatives less attractive.

"The price of this stuff has gone up so much it's gotten ridiculous," he said.

An Israeli or U.S. Attack on Iran: 'The Last Thing the World Needs Given Its Fragility is Another War in the Middle East and a Spike in Oil Prices'

Experts Warn of 'Perfect Storm' for Global Economy

September 7, 2012

AP - Experts and leaders gathered in Italy may disagree on the cure, but the malady seems clear: the world economy faces a "perfect storm" of risks that include:

• prolonged crisis in a structurally flawed Europe,
• political paralysis pushing America off a "fiscal cliff,"
• a slowdown in the emerging economies drying up the last of global growth, and
• the spectacularly destabilizing prospect of war over Iran's nuclear program.

A world of such unpredictable peril is also one in which jitters suppress the appetite for private and corporate risk, yielding meager investment and low consumption and prolonging the woes that snuck up on a booming world in the summer of 2007 as a "credit crunch", mushrooming a year later into the Great Recession.

Many attendees at the annual Ambrosetti Forum at Lake Como on Friday fretted about mounting U.S. debt and the Europe's inability to balance electorates' apparent insistence on national sovereignty with the need for regional coherence to salvage the teetering euro.

But economist Nouriel Roubini predicted years of gloom almost regardless of what is decided.

That analysis is rooted in the specific nature of this crisis, a downward spiral in which a financial meltdown largely caused by excess credit was defused by a blast of public spending; that 2009 stimulus, widely credited with avoiding a global depression, pushed some governments too far into the red for the markets' liking — a "sovereign debt crisis"; and this is turn was attacked through severe austerity measures that suppressed spending to the point that countries cannot grow their way back to prosperity.

"History suggests that whenever (there is) a crisis with too much private debt first and public debt second you have a painful process of deleveraging," said the famously apocalyptic New York University professor, a glowering fixture at such international talk-shops.

"That would imply many years, up to a decade, of low economic growth. And guess what? Economic recovery in the U.S. has been unending and in the eurozone and U.K. there's outright economic contraction right now, and that's not going to change unfortunately in the next few years."

The grim prognosis was consistent with new figures released a day earlier by the OECD, a club of the world's richest nations. Its report found that the global economy is slowing and that the G7 economies would grow at an annualized rate of just 0.3 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Furthermore, the OECD found, the continuing eurozone crisis "is dampening global confidence, weakening trade and employment and slowing economic growth" worldwide.

How to fix the eurozone, then? The different views are familiar.

Ali Babican, Turkey's deputy prime minister for economic and financial affairs, bemoaned the lack of a sense of common European interest — alluding to the lack of sympathy in places like Germany for the woes of an economically hammered eurozone colleague like Greece.

Other speakers focused on structural problems such as the "Balkanization" of Europe's banking system, which lacks a central guarantor like America's FDIC.

Increasingly popular is the argument that it is fundamentally illogical to allow a country to blunder into massive debt if it doesn't have the monetary tools to diminish its debt — lacking a currency to devalue.

Roubini said that the only solution was to extend the euro's monetary union in the direction of a banking, fiscal or even political union, at least to the point of having a single eurozone finance minister empowered to veto individual countries' budgets for exceeding a given deficit limit.

"Today the eurozone is disintegrating. ... either move forward or you're going to fall off a cliff."

That rankled former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who declaimed the idea of "a United States of Europe" as counter to the psychology and history of the region.

"The history of Europe is a history of states," said Aznar, who led Spain from 1996 to 2004, a period of tremendous growth that seems an epoch away. "We must restrict this and not create another thing that does not work."

Better, he said quietly, was to ensure that countries take the "right decisions."

Some applied that label to one decision this week, a bond-buying plan from the European Central Bank that continued to lift financial markets on Friday.

But others noted that the offer by ECB president Mario Draghi is highly conditioned.

"The decision by the ECB is extremely important but ... the ECB is only one instrument (and) if governments do not do their part the ECB will not be able to succeed," said JPMorgan Chase International chairman Jocob Frenkel.

It was easier to find common ground on the question of the United States — with great concerns that country is headed toward another debt-ceiling crisis because regardless of the presidential election outcome Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on how to close a deficit that is digging an ever deeper debt hole.

"The largest economy of the world cannot continue this way without doing any kind of predictability about what is going to happen," said Babican. "We don't know much about the budget of 2012 and we don't know what kind of fiscal policy there will be in 2013. A fiscal cliff is coming."

Also clouding the atmosphere was the slowdown in emerging nations — including China, despite growth there that remains far higher than in the West.

"Seven percent growth may seem high, but for China, which had double-digit growth for 20 years, it really means bad news," said Li Cheng, a China expert from the Brookings Institute.

He said there was risk of millions of layoffs which could spark "the largest crisis in (Communist China's) history because it may cause revolution."

The final element of what Roubini described as the "global perfect storm" is the possibility of an attack by Israel or the United States on Iran because "it's clear that negotiations have failed" on stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"The last thing the world needs given its fragility is another war in the Middle East and a spike in oil prices," Roubini said.

Israeli President Shimon Peres declined to address the Iran issue but sounded a philosophically optimistic note, suggesting that from his perspective at age 89, crises come and crises go.

"Today what we call crisis is more of a profound change that we were not organized to meet properly," he said.

His solution was somewhat deflating to the audience, a graying crowd visibly given to collecting bulky stacks of paper: Hand things over to a younger generation — global, digital, and largely "not so impressed."

"They are better educated, better built, and more up to date."

Between 2003 and 2008, the Amount of Speculative Money in Commodities Grew from $13 Billion to $317 Billion, an Increase of 2,300 Percent

We may never know for sure the combination of circumstances that brought on the energy crisis of 2008. But one factor was almost certainly the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which allowed unprecedented levels of speculation in oil futures by investment banks and pension funds, bringing the familiar boom-bust cycle home to the gas pump. - Drill Now? Try Regulate Now., Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2010

And what caused the huge spike in oil prices? Take a wild guess. Obviously Goldman had help — there were other players in the physical-commodities market — but the root cause had almost everything to do with the behavior of a few powerful actors determined to turn the once-solid market into a speculative casino. Goldman did it by persuading pension funds and other large institutional investors to invest in oil futures — agreeing to buy oil at a certain price on a fixed date. The push transformed oil from a physical commodity, rigidly subject to supply and demand, into something to bet on, like a stock. Between 2003 and 2008, the amount of speculative money in commodities grew from $13 billion to $317 billion, an increase of 2,300 percent. By 2008, a barrel of oil was traded 27 times, on average, before it was actually delivered and consumed. - Matt Taibbi, The Great American Bubble Machine, Rolling Stone, July 2, 2009

We'll Make a Killing Out of Food Crisis, Glencore Trading Boss Chris Mahoney Boasts

August 23, 2012

The Independent - The United Nations, aid agencies and the British Government have lined up to attack the world's largest commodities trading company, Glencore, after it described the current global food crisis and soaring world prices as a "good" business opportunity.

With the US experiencing a rerun of the drought "Dust Bowl" days of the 1930s and Russia suffering a similar food crisis that could see Vladimir Putin's government banning grain exports, the senior economist of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, Concepcion Calpe, told The Independent: "Private companies like Glencore are playing a game that will make them enormous profits."

Ms Calpe said leading international politicians and banks expecting Glencore to back away from trading in potential starvation and hunger in developing nations for "ethical reasons" would be disappointed.

"This won't happen," she said. "So now is the time to change the rules and regulations about how Glencore and other multinationals such as ADM and Monsanto operate. They know this and have been lobbying heavily around the world to water down and halt any reform."

Glencore's director of agriculture trading, Chris Mahoney, sparked the controversy when he said: "The environment is a good one. High prices, lots of volatility, a lot of dislocation, tightness, a lot of arbitrage opportunities.

"We will be able to provide the world with solutions... and that should also be good for Glencore."

Glencore announced pre-tax global profits of £1.4bn. The G20 is considering holding an emergency summit on the world food crisis.

Oxfam was scathing about Glencore's exploitation of volatile world food prices. Jodie Thorpe, from the aid agency's Grow Campaign, said: "Glencore's comment that 'high prices and lots of volatility and dislocation' was 'good' gives us a rare glimpse into the little-known world of companies that dominate the global food system."

Oxfam said companies like Glencore were "profiting from the misery and suffering of poor people who are worst hit by high and volatile food prices", adding:

"If we are going to fix the ailing food system then traders must be part of the cure."

Stephen O'Brien, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, said:

"We know that food-price spikes hit the poorest hardest. Ensuring the poor can still access enough food is vital in times of food-price rises, which is why the UK is investing in safety nets that deliver food and cash to the poorest."

A Glencore spokesperson said: "Regardless of the business environment, Glencore is helping fulfil global demand by getting the commodities that are needed to the places that need them most."

Price of a Bushel of Corn has Risen Over 60% in the Last Couple of Months

Drowning in a Sea of Drought

August 22, 2012

empressofaiken - We just paid $2.25 more for a bag of horse feed than we did a month ago – a jump of over 25%. We weren’t happy about, but we only have three horses, so we’ll find a way to work it into the household budget.

What was hard to watch was the dairy farmer who had come to make his regular weekly purchase of 200 bags of feed for his cows. He simply didn’t have the extra $450. Over the course of a month that means another $2,000 to him. It isn’t in his budget, and he had to tell the men at the loading dock to remove some of the bags. He said that he was going home to talk to his wife about how they were going to deal with their herd. He has only two real options – sell some of his cows or slaughter them. He can’t make ends meet selling milk if feeding his cows will eat up every bit of his profit and more. He’s not the only farmer making hard decisions. It’s happening all across the country.

I think it took that scene at the supply store to make this Summer’s weather conditions a reality for me.  

There just isn’t going to be enough corn – not for us, not for livestock or poultry and not for fuel – not unless we do something about it.

In the last couple of months the price of a bushel of corn has risen over 60% from $5.51 per bushel to today’s price which is hovering around $8.40. Take a look at the agricultural commodities market and you’ll see that soybeans have risen from $10.95 to $17.34 and that wheat is up to $9.42 from $5.78.

Given the very basic and simple rules of supply and demand, this means that all of us are going to have to take a long hard look at our checkbooks. We’re going to have to find ways to pinch those pennies a little tighter while we shop for food and fill our gas tanks.

The crops for 2012 are yielding approximately 15-20% less than in previous years and they can’t be recovered. You can’t make something grow without a little help from Mother Nature, and the growing season is quickly coming to an end.

Climatologists are reporting that this is the first of many signs that global warming is a real threat to our planet. That may very well be, but it isn’t just the severe drought conditions that are driving those prices.

• Government regulations require that 40% of corn crops be converted into biofuel, forcing farmers to devote less and less land to growing other crops.
• Market speculators, seeing huge investor profits, have nearly tripled their trading in agricultural commodities, and that was only between June and July. Profit driven motives, in the world of trading, can skew everything and throw the supply and demand model right out the window.
• Fears over war between Israel and Iran, along with the ongoing fighting in Syria, have forced some of their neighbors in the Middle East to stockpile both food and oil supplies.
• China and Japan are facing their own fears and are responding by releasing some of their own grain reserves, impacting the normal flow of global exports and imports.

It has all the makings of the perfect storm for a world that is already skittish about the economic situation.

Here in the United States, there has been some talk by members of Congress about easing up on those ethanol regulations. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization has appealed for the suspension of the EPA requirements. It’s a sort of food-or-fuel debate. The problem is that it probably won’t happen until 2013, and that’s being optimistic. The ethanol and fuel oil producers have already set the wheels in motion for business as usual. To change their operations will take time.

The debate in Washington, like almost everything else there, is sharply divided and being argued in the two different languages of partisan politics, something that even a translator can’t help. We also have to take into account that we’re in an election cycle, and few candidates are willing to take on any challenge that could very well mean a loss of campaign contributions.

Groups with very diverse interests – from the National Cattlemen’s Association to the Corn Grower’s Association to myriad environmental organizations – have been whispering in the ears of lawmakers and writing checks to ensure that they can be heard.

Should those in power decide to enter into some real discussions and make actual changes to the ethanol issue, there is a very good chance that the situation could improve. Economists and experts in both the fields of energy and agriculture have offered some suggestions as to how different scenarios could work. Each variation shows what type of impact there would be given how much or how little the EPA standards are relaxed.

The other variables, according to an article presented by Purdue University, would be “the price of oil, the price of corn, the magnitude of the drought, the economics of switching away from ethanol and the technical flexibility of refiners and blenders.”

Even a compromise, from all involved, would be better than just doing nothing. These are actual ways in which the further harm to the environment would be limited, while also allowing for Americans to buy groceries and drive to work.

In the meantime, while they’re either arguing or ignoring the problem, we’ll be waiting and prices will keep going up. We might have to tighten our belts another notch, but that won’t be hard, because we’ll probably be eating less and walking more.

The Dust Bowl All Over Again? Midwest Drought Reveals Indiana ‘Ghost Towns’

Is there anyway we can submerge Washington DC?

Midwest Drought Reveals Indiana ‘Ghost Towns’

August 20, 2012

NBC News - The severe drought scorching much of the nation's Midwest has lowered water levels so drastically that towns that were intentionally submerged decades ago are starting to surface.

The historic drought has dried the Salamonie River in northeast Indiana so much that its receding banks are now revealing the remnants, bricks and foundations of Monument City, Ind., NBC News reports.

The small town of 100 was one of three whose residents were relocated before the Salamonie River was dammed and the municipality submerged in order to build a reservoir in 1965.

[Photos: Drought strikes many states]

"Our school didn't have a gymnasium," Dick Roth, 81, who attended the defunct high school in Monument City said in the piece. "Our gymnasium was outside, which is a cement slab."

Slabs of foundations and red bricks that once walled the homes and buildings of the riverside community are becoming visible and bringing up memories for those who once lived there, like Roth.

Officials of a nearby visitor's center that has a display honoring the once-sunken towns are giving guided tours of the areas, hoping former residents will come and tell more stories and share their oral history, NBC noted.

[Related: Drought diaries, stories from the historic drought]

The drop of water levels in lakes and rivers is a startling example of the toll of the historic drought, which is also hampering the economy in the Midwest.

A recent report says the drought is leveling off in the Midwest. However, it's not much consolation with about 62 percent of the continental U.S. mired in drought conditions. About 24 percent of the U.S. is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought—the two worst classifications.

Food Price Spike Due to Drought Could Trigger Riots in Poorer Countries Like in 2008

World Powers Eye Emergency Food Meeting; Action Doubted

August 15, 2012

Reuters - Leading members of the Group of 20 nations are prepared to trigger an emergency meeting to address soaring grain prices caused by the worst U.S. drought in more than half a century and poor crops from the Black Sea bread basket.

France, the United States and G20 president Mexico will hold a conference call at the end of August to consider whether an emergency international meeting is required, aiming to avoid a repetition of the food price spike that triggered riots in poorer countries in 2008.

Yet even as the third grain surge in four years stirs new fears about food supply and inflation, many say the world's powers are no better prepared to rein in runaway prices. Apart from a global grain database, which has yet to be launched, and the Rapid Response Forum that authorities are considering convening for the first time, the G20 has few tools.

Instead, it must intervene through influence, perhaps urging the United States to relax its ethanol policy in response to the crisis - difficult only months before a presidential election that may be won or lost in Midwest farm states - or urging Russia not to impose an export ban, as it did two years ago.

"Beyond words, expect little from the G20 on rising food prices," said Simon Evenett, a former World Bank official who is now professor of international trade and economic development, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

He described the G20's record on trade as "feeble."

"With a string of broken promises on protectionism, no serious enforcement, monitoring well after the horse has bolted, and a tendency to pull their punches, any G20 promises on food trade won't be taken seriously - by the G20 themselves or by anyone else."

The group is hindered by the widely differing views of its diverse members, split between big consumers and producers.

A senior Brazilian government official said that only a major food crisis would raise pressure on the G20 to call for intervention in physical commodity markets, something countries such as the United States and Canada typically oppose.

"If we do have a meeting, I don't think we can have anything more than a recommendation coming out of it," said the official who declined to be named because he was not allowed to speak publicly. "The forum has no powers to impose certain policies or decisions on its members."

Benchmark Chicago corn rose to an all-time high on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its production estimate 17 percent.

The United States uses 40 percent of its corn crop to produce ethanol, drawing criticism for using food for fuel when hunger is widespread in some poorer countries.

"They (G20) might talk about the U.S. ethanol mandate requirements, but I don't see them making any massive responses at the moment. They don't have a lot of tools at their disposal," said analyst Muktadir Ur Rahman Of Capital Economics.

The U.N.'s food agency stepped up pressure on the United States on Friday to change its biofuel policies, arguing it was more important to grow crops for food rather than fuel.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's food index jumped 6 percent in July to higher than in 2008 and the FAO warned against the kind of export bans, tariffs and buying binges that worsened the surge four years ago.

EU BIOFUELS VERSUS FOOD

The European Commission has also faced extensive criticism of its biofuel policy for using land otherwise devoted to food crops. Scientists have also argued that the policy fails to achieve its environmental goals.

A French agriculture ministry official said countries on the conference the call would decide whether to convene the first meeting of the Rapid Response Forum. The body was created last year to promote early discussion among decision-makers about abnormal market conditions, with the aim of avoiding unilateral action.

"If the situation requires it, a meeting of the Rapid Response Forum could be called as soon as the start of September," the official said, adding that the forum could hold its discussions in person or by a conference call.

A Commission spokesman said its agriculture department was "following the situation on a daily basis" and that the Commission would be involved should the G20's Rapid Response Forum decide to meet.

"Silos are full. There are absolutely no shortages in Europe," he added.

Joseph Glauber, chief economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, echoed this view.

"The good news is that global wheat and rice stocks are more plentiful than in 2007/08, but less corn and soybean meal means more wheat feeding (to livestock)," he said.

Glauber said there had been "discussions" about possibly convening a Forum meeting at the same time as a regularly planned gathering in October.

BIOFUEL PRESSURE RISES

Charity Oxfam is among the groups campaigning for ministers to agree on beginning to abolish mandates and targets for biofuel production both in the EU and in the United States.

"In 2011, 11 intergovernmental agencies produced a report to the G20 where it unequivocally said there was a link between increasing biofuels production and food price rises and recommended quite clearly that biofuels mandates and targets should be scrapped," said Hannah Stoddart, head of economic justice at Oxfam Great Britain.

France, the United States and Mexico will discuss a report on agricultural prices requested by France last month and compiled by the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS). This system, created last year under France's presidency of the G20, is designed to share information on crop prices with a view to averting a repetition of the 2008 food crisis.

France currently presides over both the forum and the AMIS system, which is based at the FAO in Rome. The United States will take the reins in October.

"France ... and the United States remain attentive to any new fact that could justify a meeting of the Rapid Response Forum," French Agricultural Minister Stephane Le Foll said in a statement on Monday.

The forum has no power to impose binding decisions on member states, but it is hoped that discussion can discourage countries from taking unilateral action.

Russia banned grain exports for almost a year after a severe drought two years ago. Weather problems this year have fueled speculation it could resort to export curbs again. However, French officials have said that Russia has given reassuring indicators in contacts through the AMIS system.

"The aim is to talk about the situation and avoid measures like export embargoes, which would be damaging for everyone," the French official said.

Low Levels on the Mississippi Threatening Cargo Business, Drinking Water

WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Low Levels on the Mississippi Threatening Cargo Business, Drinking Water

August 14, 2012

WAFF - Boats are having a tough time making it down the "Mighty Mississippi," as the river's water levels drop to historic lows. It's bad for business, since the river is one of the country's most important waterways for shipping cargo.

Right now, sending goods down the river is moving at a snail's pace. The low water levels are causing many boats to get stuck, even in the middle of the river. It's forcing some barges to stop travel all together and others to significantly reduce their weight. Even the famous "American Queen" steamboat can't make it down the river. Just a few days ago it got stuck near Memphis, forcing all 300 passengers off the boat.

With less boats and less goods making it down the river, it's driving up the cost of shipping and creating longer waits for products at grocery stores across the country. Some say the river could be on the brink of closing down. If it does, that would cost the U.S. about $300 million a day.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Louisiana has declared a state of emergency for Plaquemines Parish, near New Orleans. A large wedge of salt water is moving up the river because of the extremely low water levels, and it's threatening the area's drinking water.

Plaquemines Parish issued a drinking water advisory Wednesday to its residents. Several agencies are providing water to people in the area, while the U.S. Army Corps is working to stop the salt. They temporarily shut down the river to all traffic Wednesday while they build an underwater barrier.

But the low water levels aren't bad for everyone; fishermen are welcoming it. They said it makes fishing easy, as area lakes connected to channels of the river dry up, the catfish get stuck. After last year's flood, the lakes are chalk full of fish.

The National Weather Service expects the water levels to continue to drop.